Tag Archives: graduation

Graduation (Round 2)

If you’re reading this and a bit confused as to why you’re reading yet another graduation post, let me explain. While, yes, I did technically graduate and finish all my classes in December, there was NO way I was going to pass up the opportunity to graduate from YANKEE STADIUM in May (yes you read that correctly, THE Yankee Stadium). But I digress…

In between my last trip to NYC for Dave’s NCAA Championship and graduation I secured a job at my dream company, FOX Networks, as Distribution Assistant. Luckily for me, I already had a flight booked to NYC for Graduation, so I just canceled my return flight to San Diego and began securing my apartment, and finalizing my graduation plans.

The weeks leading up to graduation were a complete whirlwind. I began my first day back in NY by saying goodbye to a close friend, Etan, at the airport as soon as I landed. The following night was an award ceremony, followed by Dave’s first summer volleyball tournament, and before I knew it, my parents were in town to celebrate graduation 2.0.

NYU is pretty big (about 50,000 students), so each school breaks up and does their own graduation ceremony prior to the big Yankee Stadium Commencement. Luckily for me (and my parents), I went to a somewhat small school and program ( less than 100 graduates and less than 8 girls in my program) which meant a pretty quick ceremony. Unfortunately my graduation fell on the same night as the Ranger’s playoffs game but we couldn’t score tickets to go. Some might find it ironic that a few of my sports management friends ditched the end of graduation and headed to the Garden – talk about truly studying what you love!

We had a day between graduating as a school and NYU’s commencement in the Bronx so I took my mom to Hoboken for the day and then later grad alley on campus. I love being able to show her a new part of the city every time she comes – that’s one of the best parts of New York – it’s somewhat limitless.

It was the perfect day for a baseball game graduation – the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, and excitement in the air. A sea of students in purple robes flooded the gates into Yankee Stadium.  Truth be told, I have never seen Yankee stadium filled with so many non-sports fans in my life. No joke.  After venturing around the 100’s section, I found some sports management friends, then later my teammates and made my way to the 3rd baseline, where I would sit the rest of the ceremony. Though the ceremony was a bit longer than I wished, it was a pretty cool experience to graduate from my favorite ballpark. How many sports fans can say that they graduated from Yankee Stadium? Not many.

After commencement, we made it back to midtown for a lunch at an Irish Pub and a celebratory beer (Hey, I’m Irish!). I then showed my parents my new work HQ (News Corp), where we ran into my former intern boss, Chris Bellitti. He was a huge part of my post-graduation job success and it seemed only fitting to run into him just hours after officially “graduating”.

Graduation 2.0 was a huge success but I couldn’t have done it without the help of a few friends. A huge thank you goes out to my incredibly supportive parents and sister – thanks for putting up with me all these years. Thank you to all my friends, my teammates, and roommates for putting up with me the past four years – I could not have done it without you all!

 

 

Graduation

I can’t believe I’m officially done. I know that I’ve been saying that a lot recently, but the truth be told, a lot of things are officially coming to an end.  Mom and Dad flew out to NY to visit for a few days during to the first week of December to celebrate my impending graduation with the President of NYU, John Sexton. Earlier this Spring, I took a class with him titled Baseball As A Road to God, and upon hearing of my early graduation, he invited me to a private ceremony in his office.

It was so great to see my parents again and have them be present for this special moment. The best part of the weekend, however, was not actually “graduating”, rather celebrating with my friends and family  at my favorite restaurants including Arturo’s with Dave and Erin, Serafina and Morton’s Grille with Phebe and some local spots with my parents.

New Year. New York. New Me?

So I may or may not be two weeks late on this whole “New Years Resolution” thing, but better late than never right? 2014 is going to be an exciting year, I just know it. I turn 21 in exactly three weeks (woo!), I graduate college in less than eleven months (say what?!) and am finally spending one complete year in New York. What else could I possibly dream of?  That is why 2014 is about making dreams a reality… Now I know that sounds cheesy, but hear me out. I’m about to enter into the workforce, and that is why this next year is all about achieving everything I’ve dreamt of before becoming “a real person”. I also happen to think that “New Years Resolutions” tend to get discarded by Super Bowl Sunday, so I have decided to make 12 goals, one for each month. That way, I don’t get bored and I get to work on something new every month. Here’s a breakdown of my goals – if you have any suggestions, please comment 🙂

JANUARY – BE A TOURIST! Visit at least 2 museums and blog about them. I have failed to be a good New Yorker and see some of the sights and sounds that make NYC so amazing. It’s time for me to go out and explore.

FEBRUARY – BE A WRITER! Write at least twice a week, three times for good measure.

MARCH – BE A TRAVELER! Go on a trip; it doesn’t have to be international or require a plane. Just get out of the city to fulfill your Wunderlust. COMPLETE March 16, 2014

APRIL – BE BOLD! Try one new activity and stick to it this month, whether its hot yoga or spin or even kayaking – just go out and do it.

MAY – BE SMART!  4.0 GPA. ‘Nuff said.

JUNE – BE EDUCATED! Read one book a week and keep the knowledge coming! Any and all recommendations are welcome.

JULY – BE HEALTHY! Aim to go out only once a week and cook all meals at home!

AUGUST – BE FIT! Pass all my fitness tests. For those of you who have been a part of any college team in preseason, you understand why this is important to me.

SEPTEMBER – BE A SAVER! Save up $1000 this month and stay away from shopping! You can do it Megs!

OCTOBER – BE A VOLUNTEER! Volunteer your time, donate blood, be a better person. You are blessed enough.

NOVEMBER – BE A CHAMPION! Win the UAA and make the NCAA tournament. It’s my senior year, yo, it’s time to shine!

DECEMBER – BE A GROWN UP! Graduate from NYU and find a job!

calvin-hobbes-new-years-resolutions-dec30

The Death of a Dream

Leave a reply

One of the few difficulties of being abroad is staying in contact with potential employers and scheduling interviews with them for the summer. Luckily enough, Skype has come to the rescue and has allowed me to conduct interview via the internet. Last week, I had one of my first skype interviews and felt pretty confident going in – I had done my research on the interviewer, reviewed my resume, and knew the “ins and outs” of the company. I felt very prepared, however in the middle of asking me about myself, one question threw me for a complete loop and had me thinking for the rest of the day:

“What’s your dream job?”

It’s a question that has been repeatedly asked since we were practically able to talk; we’ve always been expected to have an answer. In elementary school, my response was usually along the lines of professional athlete or President of the United States.  Typical, right? In middle school I thought I would make a remarkable lawyer and studied extra hard in my history classes. By the time high school rolled around, I once again changed my mind and applied to most colleges as Pre-Med. Since coming to NYU, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I contemplated switching majors even after an inter-school transfer – there is just so much that interests me!

“What’s your dream job?”

My first response to the interviewer’s question was, “Quite honestly, any paying job after graduation.” Though my answer elicited some laughter and was wholeheartedly true, I followed up with a more practical response, ” …working in sports, especially media because it is something I am extremely passionate about, so I definitely want to focus in that field.” A nod of the interviewer’s head indicated my response would suffice and we proceeded with some more questions. I, however, was not satisfied with my own answer. I thought to myself, I should have more of a plan. I should know my dreams, but can I be honest with myself? At one point during the interview, the five-year old Meg lingering in the back of my mind wanted to belt out, “I want to be a professional soccer player.” That’s when it became obvious that I needed to get a grip on my dreams – to find out what I truly wanted in life.

At what part in your life is it acceptable to say that you should give up on your dream? Do you reach a certain age when it become too ridiculous to say that you still want to climb Mt. Everest? Or that you want to change professions in the middle of your career? This question regarding the death of our dreams has been bothering me as of late, and although I feel there are some points in our lives where we may not be capable of some of our original objectives, I do feel it is necessary to acknowledge our BIG-HAIRY-AUDACIOUS-GOALS and try to set out to accomplish them.

If anything, I’ve learned that by setting unattainable and unrealistic goals for myself, I’ll never be successful or happy. All I can do is strive to be better, try to find work that makes me want to get out of bed every morning. I need a dream job where I do something great, produce something new, or even kindle new relationships on a daily basis. For me a dream job is no longer one that makes me tons of money or famous, but is one that makes me happy and fulfilled – like my five year old self would want.

In an attempt to try to “find” my dream job, I wrote out a list of professions that I am interested in pursuing as to help focus my thoughts. From this brainstorm, I can tell you that I want to work in sports (duh) and need a somewhat active job. If anybody is hiring (starting May of 2015), let this girl know!

– Professional Soccer Player (a girl can dream right?), College Soccer Coach/Athletic Director, Sports Broadcaster, Sports Agent, USOC/IOC Representative, College Professor (though this may have to wait until I’m actually a professional), International Sports Businesswoman (I’m not entirely sure what this encompasses), NFL Director of Operations/Communications, espnW President

 “What’s your dream job?”

That question still is swirling around in my head. Next time should I say something that relates to the company I am interviewing for? How do I convey to potential employers that even though my dream may not be with them, I would still work hard and value the experience I would get working with them if I was hired? From what I’ve experienced, I’m just going to stick with “one that pays the bills”.